Dictionary

community en · NOUN

Pronunciation

[kəˈmjʉː.nɪ.ɾi] (Australia)
[kəˈmjʉːnə.ɾi] (New-Zealand)
/kəˈmjuːnɪ.ti/ (Received-Pronunciation)
/kəˈmjʉ.nɪ.te/ (Scotland)
(Canada) audio
/k(ə)ˈmju.nə.ti/ (Canada, General-American)
/kəˈmjʉːnɪ.ti/ (Australia)
[k(ə)ˈmju.nə.ɾi] (Canada, General-American)
audio Queensland
/-tɪ/ (Scotland)
/kəˈmjʉwnɪtɪj/ (British, Southern, Standard)
kə-myo͞oʹnə-ti (Canada, General-American)
/-ti/ (Scotland)
(California) audio
/kəˈmjʉːnə.ti/ (New-Zealand)

Etymology

From Late Middle English communite, borrowed from Old French communité, comunité, comunete (modern French communauté), from Classical Latin commūnitās (“community; public spirit”), from commūn(is) (“common, ordinary; of or for the community, public”) + -itās. By surface analysis, commun(e) + -ity. Displaced native Old English ġemǣnsċipe. Doublet of communitas.

Meanings

(countable) A group sharing common characteristics, such as the same language, law, religion, or tradition.
- "There was an underpass beside the station which was a difficult area for anti-social behaviour. Again, we got artists involved, and schools and the community to put murals in it, and now the community feels like it's theirs. For a small urban station, it has a really nice modern feel about it." 2026 March 18, Chris Conway talks to Andy Comfort, “The RAIL Interview”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 34:
- Nor wanting here, to entertain the thought, / Creatures, that in communities exist, / Less, at might seem, for general guardianship / Or through dependance upon mutual aid, / Than by participation of delight / And a strict love of fellowship, combined. 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion, being a Portion of The Recluse; a Poem, London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster-Row, →OCLC, book the fourth (Despondency Corrected), page 161:
- [W]e are not borne to our ſelues alone, but the prince, the countrie, the parents, freends, wiues, children and familie, euerie of them doo claime an intereſt in vs, and to euerie of them we muſt be beneficiall: otherwiſe we doo degenerate from that communitie and ſocietie, which by ſuch offices by vs is to be conſtrued, & doo become moſt vnprofitable: […] 1586, Giraldus Cambrensis [i.e., Gerald of Wales], “The Irish Historie Composed and Written by Giraldus Cambrensis, […] ”, in Iohn Hooker alias Vowell [i.e., John Hooker], transl., The Second Volume of Chronicles: […] , [s.l.]: [s.n.], →OCLC:
- The process of coming to faith and growing in the life of faith is fundamentally a process of participation. […] The Presbyterian Confession of 1967 says that "the new life takes shape in a community in which [human beings] know that God loves and accepts them in spite of what they are." In words that capture an older language, God uses the community of faith as "means of grace." 2005, Craig Dykstra, “Growing in Faith”, in Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices, 2nd edition, Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, →ISBN, page 40:
- It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today – with America standing out in the forefront and the UK not far behind. 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, archived from the original on 16 Nov 2016, page 19:
- Henry VII obtained from his first parliament a grant of tonnage and poundage during life, according to several precedents of former reigns. But when general subsidies were granted, the same people […] twice broke out into dangerous rebellions; and as these, however arising from such immediate discontent, were yet connected a good deal with the opinion of Henry's usurpation, and the claims of a pretender, it was a necessary policy to avoid too frequent imposition of burdens upon the poorer classes of the community. 1827, Henry Hallam, “On the English Constitution from Henry VII to Mary”, in The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII to the Death of George II, volume I, Paris: Printed for L. Baudry, at the English, Italian, German and Spanish Library, No. 9, rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré; Lefèvre, bookseller, No. 8, rue de l'Éperon, →OCLC, page 17:
- As one reads history—not in the expurgated editions written for schoolboys and passmen, but in the original authorities of each time—one is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted; and a community is infinitely more brutalized by the habitual employment of punishment, than it is by the occasional occurrence of crime. 1891 March 15, Oscar Wilde, “The Soul of Man under Socialism”, in Oscar Wilde, William Morris, W[illiam] C[harles] Owen, The Soul of Man under Socialism, The Socialist Ideal—Art and The Coming Solidarity (The Humboldt Library of Science; no. 147), New York, N.Y.: The Humboldt Publishing Company, 28 Lafayette Place, →OCLC, pages 14–15:
(countable) A residential or religious collective; a commune.
- The Beguines, an uncloistered religiously inspired woman's movement began about the year 1210 in Liége, Belgium. Generally the Beguines lived in community or in small cottages behind a wall. At times threatened as heretics, they were finally disbanded by the Reformation. 1999, “Fourteenth Century: Before and After”, in Therese Boos Dykeman, editor, The Neglected Canon: Nine Women Philosophers: First to the Twentieth Century, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, →ISBN, page 73:
(countable) A group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other.
- Synecology has for the objects of its study, not individual organisms but biological communities, which are groups of organisms living in a given space, the properties of which space select a certain assemblage of organisms of definite autecological characteristics. Such communities are moreover not merely collections of organisms of restricted autecology, but tend to become organized by the biotic relationships that exist beteen the various individuals comprising the community. 1949, G[eorge] E[velyn] Hutchinson; E[dward] S[mith] Deevey, Jr., “Ecological Studies on Populations”, in George S. Avery, Jr., editor, Survey of Biological Progress, volume I, New York, N.Y.: Academic Press, page 325:
(Internet, countable) A group of people interacting by electronic means for educational, professional, social, or other purposes; a virtual community.
- Spam texts are encoded but no decryption is possible. There is no plaintext message. I find them wonderful, and read them as poetics, as odd fragments generative of narrtives and scenography. I find the process of their production wonderful as well. The texts are written to elude community standards and means of censorship, and at the same time to enter and impose themselves into the standards and means for the community to read itself. 2015, Sandy Baldwin, “I Read My Spam”, in The Internet Unconscious: On the Subject of Electronic Literature (International Texts in Critical Media Aesthetics; 9), New York, N.Y.; London: Bloomsbury Academic, →ISBN, section VI, page 89:
- Online gaming communities develop their own language, history, routines, and relationships. The online poker community is no different, developing its own culture distinct from the traditional poker community. One asp[ect that differentiates internet poker from other online gaming communities is the presence of money, creating what [Edward] Castronova et al. (2009) refer to as a virtual economic system complete with its own rules and forces. 2015, Aaron M. Duncan, “Shifting the Scene to Cyberspace: Internet Poker and the Rise of Tom Dwan”, in Gambling with the Myth of the American Dream (Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society), New York, N.Y.; Abingdon, Oxon.: Routledge, →ISBN:
- Purpose doesn’t only come from work. The third way we can create a sense of purpose for everyone is by building community. And when our generation says “everyone”, we mean everyone in the world. 2017 May 25, Mark Zuckerberg, “Mark Zuckerberg’s Commencement address at Harvard”, in The Harvard Gazette:
(uncountable) The condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common.
- Writing groups and community writing spaces can provide that vitally important space for writing as well as potential benefits of support and accountability if people have the chance to talk about writing. Even if all that happens, however, is that people have a space to write in community with each other, the result is usually that writing becomes contagious. 2018, Bronwyn T. Williams, “A Sense of Where You Are: Literacy, Place, and Mobility”, in Literacy Practices and Perceptions of Agency: Composing Identities, New York, N.Y.; Abingdon, Oxon.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 128:
- We hope to demonstrate that Paul understood the local community to be the sphere in which and the means through which the five components of the maturation process were facilitated, thus concluding that Paul expected believers to be confirmed to Christ in community. 2006, James G[eorge] Samra, “The Role of the Local Community in the Maturation Process”, in Being Conformed to Christ in Community: A Study of Maturity, Maturation and the Local Church in the Undisputed Pauline Epistles (Library of New Testament Studies; 320), paperback edition, London; New York, N.Y.: T&T Clark, published 2008, →ISBN, section 6.1 (Introduction), page 133:
(uncountable) A feeling of togetherness or connectedness, common identity or of possessing a similar outlook, perspective and purpose with some group of people.
- Volunteering gave me a sense of community.
(countable, obsolete) Common enjoyment or possession; participation.
- To conclude, this Text is ſo far from proving Adam Sole Proprietor, that on the contrary, it is a Confirmation of the Original Community of all Things amongſt the Sons of Men, which appearing from this Donation of God, as well as other places of Scripture; the Sovraignty of Adam, built upon his Private Dominion, muſt fall, not having any Foundation to ſupport it. 1689, [John Locke], “Of Adam’s Title to Sovereignty by Donation, Gen[esis] 1.28”, in Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, the False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter is an Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government, London: Printed for Awnsham Churchill, at the Black Swan in Ave-Mary-Lane, by Amen-Corner, published 1690, →OCLC; republished London: Printed for Awnsham and John Churchill, at the Black Swan in Pater-Noster-Row, 1698, →OCLC, page 39:
- a community of goods
- Besides, you are depriving yourself of the comforts of her sympathy; and not merely that, but also endangering the only bond that can keep hearts together—an unreserved community of thought and feeling. 1819 October 9, [Washington Irving], “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. No. III. The Wife.”, in The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, etc., volume III, number 142, London: Printed by William Pople, No. 67, Chancery Lane; published for the proprietors, at the Literary Gazette office, Strand; sold also by Bell and Bradfute, Edinburgh; John Cumming, Dublin; and all other booksellers, newsmen, &c., →OCLC, page 649, column 1:
(obsolete, uncountable) Common character; likeness.
- We are now in the ninth year of the anarchy of France. […] A diſpoſition to peace has been diſplayed, without conſideration of the royal family of France. The natural horror at the effuſion of blood cannot be too ſtrong, and might of itſelf perſuade us to any ſort of peace; but it is a great queſtion, whether in this we ſhould loſe our natural horror at crime. Peace with France cannot be friendſhip with France. There can be no community between us and them, unleſs by allying ourſelves with murder, and ſanctioning and ſharing in the pillage of thieves. 1797, John Wilde, Sequel to an Address to the Lately Formed Society of the Friends of the People, Edinburgh: Printed for Peter Hill; and T[homas] Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies, London, →OCLC, page 1:
- The essential community of nature between organic growth and inorganic growth, is, however, most clearly seen on observing that they both result in the same way. The segregation of different kinds of detritus from each other, as well as from the water carrying them, and their aggregation into distinct strata, is but an instance of a universl tendency towards the union of like units and the parting of unlike units[…]. 1864, Herbert Spencer, “Growth”, in The Principles of Biology (A System of Synthetic Philosophy; II), volume I, London; Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate, 14, Henrietta Steet, Covent Garden, London; and 20, South Frederick Street, Edinburgh, →OCLC, part II (The Inductions of Biology), § 43, pages 107–108:
(obsolete, uncountable) Commonness; frequency.
- So when he had occaſion to be ſeene, / He was but as the Cuckoe is in Iune, / Heard, not regarded: Seene, but with ſuch eie / As ſicke and blunted with communitie, / Affoord no extraordinary gaze. c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
(Wales, countable) A local area within a county or county borough which is the lowest tier of local government, usually represented by a community council or town council, which is generally equivalent to a civil parish in England.

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
communitie		alternative	lexicographic
communities	Number=Plur		lexicographic

Antonyms

anticommunity · noncommunity

Deriveds

Hyponyms

subcommunity

commonship · communism · commune · communitive · communiversity · communist · communal · common · commonalty · communication

Translations (251)

it comunanza (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · oc comunautat (group sharing a common understanding) · gd poball (group sharing a common understanding) · lo ຊຸມຊົນ (group sharing a common understanding) · oc comunautat (residential or religious collective) · es comunitat (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · ko 공동체 (group sharing a common understanding) · tr komünote (group sharing a common understanding) · kk қауым (group sharing a common understanding) · kk жамағат (group sharing a common understanding) · sk komunita (residential or religious collective) · ro comunitate (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · ro comunitate (group sharing a common understanding) · txb sānk (group sharing a common understanding) · uk спільно́та (group sharing a common understanding) · gd coimhearsnachd (group sharing a common understanding) · ur کَمْیُونِٹی (group sharing a common understanding) · fa-ira مِلَّت (residential or religious collective) · hi संघ (residential or religious collective) · tr toplum (group sharing a common understanding) · sh о̏пштина (group sharing a common understanding) · he חֶבְרָה ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · fa-ira جامِعِه (residential or religious collective) · ky коом (group sharing a common understanding) · nl commune (residential or religious collective) · lv kopiena (group sharing a common understanding) · sw jamii (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · nn samfunn (group sharing a common understanding) · cmn 社群 (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · es comuna (residential or religious collective) · da fællesskab (group sharing a common understanding) · luy ejamii (group sharing a common understanding) · sv kollektiv (residential or religious collective) · ur جَماعَت (group sharing a common understanding) · gl comunidade (residential or religious collective) · ru о́бщность (group sharing a common understanding) · oc comunitat (group sharing a common understanding) · ko 집단 (group sharing a common understanding) · sc comunidade (group sharing a common understanding) · sl skupnost (residential or religious collective) · sw jamii (residential or religious collective) · tr cemaat (residential or religious collective) · pl społeczność (group sharing a common understanding) · kmr civat (group sharing a common understanding) · fa-ira جامِعِه (group sharing a common understanding) · sw jamii ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · be грама́да (group sharing a common understanding) · mi hapori (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · hi समुदाय (group sharing a common understanding) · pt comunidade ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · sv samfund (residential or religious collective) · hi जमात (group sharing a common understanding) · sk spoločenstvo (group sharing a common understanding) · hy համայնք (group sharing a common understanding) · gmw-cfr Jemeinde (residential or religious collective) · sco commonity (residential or religious collective) · tl pamayanan (residential or religious collective) · id komunitas (group sharing a common understanding) · eo komunumo (residential or religious collective) · it comunità (residential or religious collective) · ur اِجْتِمَاع (group sharing a common understanding) · sw jamii (group sharing a common understanding) · tkl komiuniti (group sharing a common understanding) · sk komunita (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · ki ado (group sharing a common understanding) · tg иҷтимоъ (group sharing a common understanding) · ja 共同体 (group sharing a common understanding) · he קהילה \ קְהִלָּה (residential or religious collective) · fi yhdyskunta ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · ro comunitate (residential or religious collective) · ka საზოგადოება (group sharing a common understanding) · sk komunita (group sharing a common understanding) · fi yhteisö (residential or religious collective) · ar مِلَّة (residential or religious collective) · nn fellesskap (group sharing a common understanding) · hi अखाड़ा (residential or religious collective) · nl gemeenschap ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · ang ġemǣnsċipe (group sharing a common understanding) · ext comunidá ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · tg ҷамоат (group sharing a common understanding) · ug جەمئىيەت (group sharing a common understanding) · cmn 社群 (residential or religious collective) · th ชุมชน (group sharing a common understanding) · nb fellesskap (group sharing a common understanding) · id komunitas (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · th ประชาคม (group sharing a common understanding) · sh ȍpština (group sharing a common understanding) · ky жамаат (group sharing a common understanding) · ru коло́ния ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · ur بَرادَری (group sharing a common understanding) · sh за̏једница (group sharing a common understanding) · sco commonity (group sharing a common understanding) · mk општина (group sharing a common understanding) · pt comunidade (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · hu közösség (group sharing a common understanding) · ca comunitat (residential or religious collective) · ps ټولنه (group sharing a common understanding) · tr ümmet (residential or religious collective) · ar مُجْتَمَع (group sharing a common understanding) · ur مِلَّت (residential or religious collective) · ms masyarakat (group sharing a common understanding) · cs komunita (group sharing a common understanding) · zlw-osk obecenstvo (group sharing a common understanding) · de Gesellschaft (group sharing a common understanding) · sv bostadskollektiv (residential or religious collective) · ga comhthionól (residential or religious collective) · fro communité (group sharing a common understanding) · ru комью́нити (group sharing a common understanding) · ko 커뮤니티 (group sharing a common understanding) · pt comunidade (group sharing a common understanding) · eu erkidego (group sharing a common understanding) · uk общи́на (group sharing a common understanding) · gl comunidade (group sharing a common understanding) · ga cumann (group sharing a common understanding) · sv gemenskap (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · gl comunidade (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · sw jamaa (group sharing a common understanding) · de Gemeinschaft (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · tt җәмәгать (group sharing a common understanding) · az ictimaiyyət (group sharing a common understanding) · ja コミュニティ (group sharing a common understanding) · it comunità (group sharing a common understanding) · sh zȁjednica (group sharing a common understanding) · nl gemeenschap (group sharing a common understanding) · cmn 共同體 /共同体 (group sharing a common understanding) · ru комму́на (residential or religious collective) · mt komunità (group sharing a common understanding) · tk jemgyýet (group sharing a common understanding) · de Community (group sharing a common understanding) · el κοινότητα (group sharing a common understanding) · ru о́бщество (group sharing a common understanding) · ko 공동체 (residential or religious collective) · fi kommuuni (residential or religious collective) · sl komuna (residential or religious collective) · te సమాజము (group sharing a common understanding) · cmn 社群 (group sharing a common understanding) · sq komunitet (group sharing a common understanding) · ca comunitat (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · nl gemeenschap (residential or religious collective) · tt җәмгыять (group sharing a common understanding) · de Gemeinde (residential or religious collective) · tl pamayanan ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · ro comunitate ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · vi cộng đồng (group sharing a common understanding) · sh о̏пћина (group sharing a common understanding) · nn kommunitet (residential or religious collective) · ru соо́бщество (group sharing a common understanding) · ja 共同体 (residential or religious collective) · mr समुदाय (group sharing a common understanding) · ba йәмғиәт (group sharing a common understanding) · hi समाज (group sharing a common understanding) · luy jamii (residential or religious collective) · bg община́ (group sharing a common understanding) · hu közösség (residential or religious collective) · sv samhälle ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · fa-ira اِجْتِماع (group sharing a common understanding) · ext comunidá (group sharing a common understanding) · txb sānk (residential or religious collective) · tr cemiyet (group sharing a common understanding) · ps اجتماع (group sharing a common understanding) · ur جَماعَت (residential or religious collective) · fi yhteisö (group sharing a common understanding) · kk қоғам (group sharing a common understanding) · ar اِجْتِمَاع (group sharing a common understanding) · mt komunità (residential or religious collective) · sv samhälle (group sharing a common understanding) · kk әлеумет (residential or religious collective) · crk mâmawâyâwin (group sharing a common understanding) · da samfund (group sharing a common understanding) · co cumunità (residential or religious collective) · grc κοινωνία (group sharing a common understanding) · uz jamoa (group sharing a common understanding) · ast comunidá (group sharing a common understanding) · tr sosyete (group sharing a common understanding) · he קהילה \ קְהִלָּה (group sharing a common understanding) · km សហគមន៍ (group sharing a common understanding) · uz jamiyat (group sharing a common understanding) · kk қоғамдастық (residential or religious collective) · hi संघ (group sharing a common understanding) · ru соо́бщество (residential or religious collective) · pl wspólnota (residential or religious collective) · sa विश् (residential or religious collective) · la communitas (group sharing a common understanding) · et kogukond (group sharing a common understanding) · ru комму́на (group sharing a common understanding) · ca comunitat ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · mk заедница (group sharing a common understanding) · az icma (group sharing a common understanding) · nb samfunn (group sharing a common understanding) · ug جەمئيەت (group sharing a common understanding) · mer banto (group sharing a common understanding) · ug جامائەت (group sharing a common understanding) · fi eliöyhteisö ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · ia communitate (group sharing a common understanding) · it comunità ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · lt bendruomenė (group sharing a common understanding) · oc comunitat (residential or religious collective) · bg кому́на (residential or religious collective) · sco commonty (group sharing a common understanding) · es comunidad (group sharing a common understanding) · ps جامعه (group sharing a common understanding) · tr topluluk (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · eo komunumo (group sharing a common understanding) · be грама́дства (group sharing a common understanding) · tr topluluk ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · tl pamayanan (group sharing a common understanding) · te సంఘము (group sharing a common understanding) · ca comunitat (group sharing a common understanding) · fi yhteisöllisyys (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · cs společenství (group sharing a common understanding) · fr communauté (residential or religious collective) · mr समुदाय (residential or religious collective) · lld comunité (group sharing a common understanding) · kam njamii (group sharing a common understanding) · ko 군집 ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · uk грома́да (group sharing a common understanding) · pt comunidade (residential or religious collective) · kln jamii (group sharing a common understanding) · ms komuniti (group sharing a common understanding) · mi hapori (group sharing a common understanding) · co cumunità (group sharing a common understanding) · gcf konminoté (group sharing a common understanding) · tg ҷомеа (group sharing a common understanding) · ar جَمَاعَة (group sharing a common understanding) · cs komunita (residential or religious collective) · sv organismsamhälle ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · got 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌸𐍃 (group sharing a common understanding) · hi समुदाय (residential or religious collective) · be абшчы́на (group sharing a common understanding) · cs spolunáležitost (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · sh ȍpćina (group sharing a common understanding) · ext comuniá (group sharing a common understanding) · bg о́бщност (group sharing a common understanding) · qu ayllu (residential or religious collective) · cmn 社團 /社团 (group sharing a common understanding) · rsk заєднїца (group sharing a common understanding) · de Gemeinschaft (group sharing a common understanding) · nb kommunitet (residential or religious collective) · sl skupnost (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · ru общи́на (group sharing a common understanding) · nl gemeenschap (condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common) · id komunitas ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · gd coimhearsnachd (residential or religious collective) · sco commonty (residential or religious collective) · bg о́бщество (group sharing a common understanding) · sl skupnost (group sharing a common understanding) · bg коло́ния (residential or religious collective) · bg коло́ния ((ecology) group of interdependent organisms) · sv gemenskap (group sharing a common understanding) · be во́бшчына (group sharing a common understanding) · fr communauté (group sharing a common understanding)